Streaking Adamson rolled to its fourth straight win after cruising past University of Santo Tomas, 80-69, in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament Saturday, April 23.
The Soaring Falcons used a strong third quarter run for a comfortable 66-52 lead heading into the payoff period behind the efforts of Jerom Lastimosa and Vince Magbuhos.
Adamson led by as many as 23 with less than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter and never looked back from that point after unloading an 11-2 spurt capped by Ricky Peromingan's three-pointer.
The Soaring Falcons improved to a 5-6 record to hold the solo fourth spot as the National University Bulldogs and the Far Eastern University Tamaraws are playing their respective games as of this writing.
Lastimosa once again had an explosive performance with 24 points on an 8-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
He went perfect 7-of-7 from the two-point area and 7-of-8 from the free throw line
"I had to talk to the team first (after the game), kailangan silang sermonan. I don't think they respected the opponent," said Adamson head coach Nash Racela as UST somehow took charge late in the last quarter.
"I thought that in their minds, we can win by just stepping on that court. If we don't play them with respect, tatalunin kami," added Racela.
Magbuhos finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and three steals for the Falcons.
Joshua Fontanilla paced the Growling Tigers with 23 points as the Espana-based squad fell to a 3-8 record.
Adamson faces a tall order on Tuesday, April 26 against the undefeated Ateneo in their 4:30 p.m. encounter while UST hopes to put an end to its skid against NU at 7 p.m.
The Scores:
Adamson 80 -- Lastimosa 24, Magbuhos 11, Douanga 9, Sabandal 8, Manzano 8, Zaldivar 8, Peromingan 8, Yerro 2, Colonia 2, Hanapi 0, Jaymalin 0, Calisay 0, Fuentebella 0, Erolon 0, Barasi 0, Maata 0.
UST 69 -- Fontanilla 23, Cabanero 13, Manalang 11, Santos 5, Concepcion 4, Gesalem 3, Manaytay 3, Garing 3, Ando 2, Herrera 2, Pangilinan 0, Yongco 0, Canoy 0.
Quarterscores: 22-21, 41-40, 66-52, 80-69.